Zig Zag Canyon Snowshoe

I'll make this short since it is over a week late. Adam and I headed up to Timberline Lodge the other weekend to get a little altitude, and also, to find a little snow. Given the recent dry and cold weather conditions, the snow level was very high and very sparse and Timberline Lodge was the best option. Back ups were Twin Lakes and White River Sno park, but Timberline looked to have the best conditions.

At the Lodge, we did our best to find the PCT, but in the end, just headed west towards Sand Canyon, Little Zig Zag Canyon and Zig Zag Canyon. In the end, we were out for about 3 hrs and climbed up towards Mississippi Head near the top of Zig Zag Canyon. Great day, great weather, great company and great beer (Mt. Hood Brewing!)

Enjoy the pics

UNT

Bryan

Willamette Stone OAB

I wanted to try out something new the other day so I finally got around to a run that I've been wanting to do to Willamette Stone Heritage Site off Skyline Ave. Oregon State Parks described the site as such:

With the exception of portions of the eastern United States and Texas, the United States is divided into a grid of six-mile squares called Townships and Ranges, commonly known as the rectangular survey system. The Willamette Meridian is one of 37 Principal Meridians in the United States, each of which is named, that define the rectangular survey system.

The Willamette Stone is the "Initial Point" or Point of Beginning of the Willamette Meridian. All land surveys and property descriptions in Oregon and Washington are referenced to this point. Established in 1851 under the direction of John B. Preston, the first Surveyor General of the Oregon Territory, the surveys completed from this location promoted settlement of the Northwest and began the transfer of land from government ownership to private ownership.


I didnt really know what to expect for the run other than a little trail finding and some steep inclines. The weather was great so I grabbed my iPhone and headed out.

Willamette Stone OAB

EveryTrail - Find the best Hiking in Oregon

-FYI: I believe the vertical gain on this track is significantly off. It can't be more than 2k.

UNT

Bryan

Racing Cyclocross - Barton Park

Barton Park

This fall season I decided to try my hand at cyclocross. During the prior year, I started following cyclocross events online and watched a few vimeo and youtube videos and came to the conclusion that it was something that I would like to try. I also wanted to get into road biking as a good form of cross training. With that in mind, I purchased a cyclocross bike from my LBS, and also picked up a extra set of rims equipped with road tires. Not the ideal set up for road biking, but it would work for the mean time, but as a cyclocross setup, it would work great.

With very little time on my cross bike and very little training ( yes I tried a few mounts, dismounts and barrier hops), I signed up for a race in the local Blind Date at the Diary series. I raced in Cat C because I couldnt make it in time for the beginner race. Overall, it was a rough introduction into cyclocross as the race takes place in the evening under the lights of the baseball fields and other pop up lights, but not all of the course was lit so it was a little nerve racking sliding around in the dark amongst many other like-minded individuals. I soon realized that I went out way too hard and was cramping and exhausted by the time I crossed the finish line. In the end, I placed well, 18th I think in the C's, not bad for my first event, and I definitely knew that I wanted to race more.

A few weeks later, I signed up for my first Cross Crusade event at Barton Park. The Cross Crusade needs little introduction for those pugged into the cross scene. Once again, I raced Cat C because I didnt want to get up super early to make the Beginner race. I described the cross as a little muddy, but I later read that it was the driest Barton course they'd ever seen. Oh well, it was a good excuse to try out my new tires. I took this event at a much slower pace early on as I did not want to blow up like I did in my last race. I also did not know the course so I took the first lap and a half to get comfortable. Somehow during the first two laps, I failed to recognize where the finish line was and hammered hard on the third lap only to realize that the finish line was not where I expected and I had half a lap to go. So once again, I bonked hard and wasnt able to hold off the people that I had passed during my surge. However, I finished the race very happy and was glad that I came out to race. I look forward to next year and getting a group of friends together to race and maybe...... put together a team. We'll see.

UNT

Bryan

PS. No pics from the Blind Date, only Barton Park.

Oh this is where the finish is...

Portland Trail Series

The past couple of months I have been competing every other Wednesday at the inaugural Portland Trail Series in Forest Park. The series consisted of 5 races ranging from a little less than 5 miles to a little below 8 miles with a stout amount of climbing in each race. I thought the series would give me some minor goals to work towards as I come into my off season. After a competition free summer, it was nice to get out and test myself once again and get some speed work in.

In the end, I ended up winning all but 1 race, where I got second, and won the overall series title. It was a wonderful event put on by Todd Janssen and a handful of other great volunteers from the Tuesday night trail runners and Trailfactor group. Thanks everyone! You can see all the results here on Nspire.

Blurry iPhone shots

Sun Valley Day 3: The Home Stretch

The group split ways on the last morning. One crew headed out to jerk rod on the Big Wood River and the other crew headed out for a final mtb loop around Lower Adam's Gulch. This was one of my favorite rides from the previous year, and I wanted to share it with everyone else. Last years I did it by myself while everyone else fished. Its about an 8ish mile loop if I remember correctly with an easy climb with many fun creek crossings and a fast flowy descent through open meadows.

Everyone loved it in the end and definitely made us all start dreaming about completing the entire loop next year, which would make for an epic adventure.

When we all got back, we feasted on eggs and sausage once again. Never gets old! Proof: 120 eggs were consumed on the trip.  We cleaned the condo, packed the cars and all headed our separate ways. Before leaving, we did our best to narrow the options for our annual ski mathering. Top choices include: Mt. Baker, Wallowas Hut Tour, or Alta. Maybe all three. Just need to get a new pair of skis now.

UNT

Bryan